Friday, December 17, 2010

Poor Bruce Boudreau, beyond the troubles with his under performing and highly paid hockey club today he has a much larger problem on the horizon this Christmas, he has to face his Mama after his television debut on HBO this week.

Boudreau and his Capitals are part of a number of HBO programs tracking both the Caps and the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they work their way through December of the NHL season on their way to a rendezvous on New Years Day at the Winter Classic at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field.

Styled as a behind the scenes all access pass kind of program, hockey fans are learning a fair amount (perhaps a little too much) about some of their favourite hockey players, their coaches and any other fellow traveller that pops into the camera viewfinder in the next few weeks.

The program titled 24/7 Penguins Capitals road to the NHL Winter Classicis clearly not the thing of a Peter Puck greatest hits collection, unfiltered and clearly uncensored, the good, the bad and the profane is all there for display. A fascinating glimpse inside the dressing room, team bus, airport waits and any other location that Pens and Caps may gather with the camera almost a constant companion.

Boudreau's debut on the television documentary screen has made for much conversation after episode one, his liberal use of F bombs in his missives to his Capital troops a warning to coaches everywhere from high school to the pros, that emotions caught on tape can certainly provide for talking points not to shortly after public review.

For those who missed the debut on Wednesday, but want to total up the F bombs themselves, (providing that Mom and any little children for that matter aren't around) the more colourful of Boudreau's cinematic rant can be found on You Tube.

No one is keeping tabs on the profanities exhaled by Boudreau (perhaps because they are too plentiful and too fast to count) , who may find sympathy from many hockey fans for his exasperation at the sluggish work efforts of his players in the last few months, but one person in particular is hoping that Bruce keeps offering up the words that could be bleeped anywhere else but on HBO.

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, currently under more than a bit of pressure of his own with his NFL team stumbling in the late going is no doubt hoping that the the chatty Boudreau keeps the F words flowing.

With the Capitals coach ramping up the cursing to a grander scale, Ryan suddenly is off the hook with his own Mom, passing the torch for coaches with a lot of splaining to do his new best friend Bruce.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Providing he makes the flight connections from a cross country journey, Dion Phaneuf will make a much anticipated return to Calgary tonight, as his Toronto Maple Leafs make a rare visit to the western reaches of the NHL.

It was the signature trade thus far for Maple Leaf's President and General Manager Brian Burke, who brought the intense nature of Phaneuf's hockey make up into the boiler room that is Toronto, which like Montreal is where hockey players are placed under a microscope like few other locations in the NHL.

When he arrived in Toronto eleven months ago, it was considered perhaps another one of Brian Burke's greatest thefts, bringing a key member of the Flames into the Maple Leaf dressing room to serve as one of the major building blocks in Burke's blue print to return the Leafs to greater glory.

However, like any construction project it would seem that there have been setbacks along the way, the Leafs this year don't seem much better than they did last, Phaneuf has struggled at times with the leadership role thrust upon him with Toronto and along with injuries hasn't quite provided for the dividends that Maple Leaf fans are anxious for.

Still, for Burke it was a trade he would make again in a minute, taking time this week to recount the reasons why he set out to acquire the defenceman and how he still believes that the plan in progress will eventually come to a successful conclusion.

Over in the Calgary dressing room, the return of their former team mate once again has Flame players speaking out that any perceived animosities between themselves and the former Flame have been greatly overblown.

The fact that the return of Dion and his struggling Leafs to visit the Flames who are very much in the same situation as Toronto, has attracted such attention, seems to prove out Iginla's thoughts.

As the two teams prepare to meet in Calgary tonight, the focus it seems is on personalities rather than what's been happening on the ice, indicative of the troubles of two teams that seem stuck in a rut. leaving their fans to watch in frustration as expectations of progress seem rather distant to say the least.

For the followers of the Leafs it's the frustration that the arrival of Phaneuf hasn't translated into a major move upwards in the NHL standings, while Flames fans can commiserate with the realization that the blockbuster announcement of last year hasn't resulted in a change of direction for the Flames.

In fact, for Calgary, this season so far is worse than last, which if one is scoring at home would suggest that if you're looking for winners and losers in the trade of last year, the Leafs may be ahead of the Flames, though not by a very wide margin.

Both teams continue to make headlines from their trade of almost a year ago, however, the bottom line thus far is that neither can claim a massive shift in results that came from it.

A digest of the accounts of the return of the prodigal Flame can be found below:

Monday, December 06, 2010

The hockey world certainly won't mind putting the month of November in our rear view mirrors, it was a most sad month when it came to saying good bye to popular personalities.

Short days after we bid farewell to Pat Burns, the hockey world stopped to acknowledge the life and career of Jim Kelley, the Buffalo based writer and broadcaster who never wavered from his opinions but provided for a wealth of memories over a lengthy career covering the sport he showed such passion for.

Mr. Kelley passed away last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer, dedicated professional that he was he worked almost until his very last hours it seems, filing a story for Sportsnet mere hours before his admission to hospital and his passing.

His career began as a writer for the Buffalo News, taking on the hockey beat and making it his home, bringing his sharp eye and attention to prose together to provide some of the finest in hockey reporting on either side of the border.

From the printed word of Buffalo's traditional media, Kelley moved on to the world of the Internet, a pioneer of sorts ahead of his time when it came to delivering the news of the hockey world to an eager audience always looking for more.

Over the last few years he became even better known to Canadians with frequent appearances as co-host on Prime Time Sports on the Fan 590 and Sportsnet, his week long stints a signal to hockey fans to pull up a chair and gain insight into the game that few have the knack to pull off.

The Prime Time Sports program with Bob McCown features a number of participants who ebb and flow through the programming schedule, however along with Stephen Brunt, the appearances made by Kelley always proved to be among the most entertaining of hours that the program provides, his give and take with the host the kind of chemistry that is hard to fake, the debates, the sidebar commentaries all part of what he brought to the table and shared with the audience.

Whether it was from his written word or his radio and television work, every session provided the kind of atmosphere for the reader or listener and viewer of being in their favourite watering hole just spinning yarns about a favourite sport. A good friend and some good conversation all making for a pretty great combination.

It's a testimony to his talent and the reverence that those who worked with him over the years had that the last week has provided for a large number of tribute pieces about his work and his life.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Monday brought the hockey world together in Montreal, a celebration of the life of Pat Burns, take far too early from the game he loved and the players and league personnel that ever worked with or for him.

The coach who never seemed to leave the police beat far behind from his days in Gatineau, was remembered not only for his coaching skills and ability to relate to his players, but for his passion for the game and sense of humour that he brought to it, though you suspect that for more than a few players over the years, that sense of humour may have been cleverly disguised.

Tuesday's news reviews were full of anecdotes and remembrances of events during his days of coaching whether it was in his junior days with Hull, or when he moved quickly into the ranks of pro hockey with Montreal, Toronto, Boston and New Jersey.

As a sign of tribute to the kind of force he had been the entire New Jersey Devils team was in attendance at his funeral mass at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal, they were joined by a galaxy of past NHL stars, current General Managers and Presidents as well as league officials including Commissioner Gary Bettman, beyond hockey personalities there were politicians and former co workers from the days that Burns walked a beat or served as a detective with the Gatineau police force.

All gathered to recount those moments that brought their path across his, making many of them better we suspect for the journey shared.

Considering the fondness that both the hockey and police community have for their former partner, one suspects that this one thief that would be best to turn over the ill gotten goods as soon as possible and then find the deepest hole in which to hide.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

When in doubt call in the accountants, and for those proponents of adding more Canadian franchises to the NHL's family of clubs, the numbers are measuring up very positively it seems.

The weekend past, the National Post provided the spread sheet so to speak as to the viability of such Canadian outposts as Hamilton, Winnipeg and Quebec City, all passionate hockey towns and all wishful that the NHL brings the game back to places where it once was played and where the fire for the game still burns hot.

The synopsis of the article from the Post is that a return to any of the three Canadian cities currently hoping to return to the NHL fold would be financially possible with Canada's strong currency, assisted by the era of the salary cap combining to provide a strong base for a successful franchise.

Mario Lefebvre, a Director of the Centre for Municipal Studies and participant with the Conference Board of Canada, provided the four pillars of support required for success, and the three most mentioned Canadian cities it seems all fit into those guidelines.

Mr. Lefebvre found favourable trends in such areas as the size of and the financial wealth of at the potential fan base, a sound corporate presence for support and a level playing field , particularly in the area of economics.

With the Canadian dollar now at or above parity with its U. S. counterpart, the financials may never be better to relocate those struggling American franchises to homes north of the border, a move which considering the state of the American economy of late compared to that of Canada's could make the wish list perhaps more possible now than it ever has since the moving vans backed up to Le Colisee and the old Winnipeg Arena a decade or so ago.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

There is a growing sentiment that in an overbooked and lengthy NHL season the prospect of an all star game is something best left for the history books.

An unlikely possibility however, considering each all star game is like a debutante ball for Commissioner Gary Bettman. His chance to bring along a posse of corporate sponsors to schmooze along in the private booths and have their pictures taken with players, even if it's most likely many of them wouldn't recognize a player if they tripped over their equipment bags.

All Star Weekend of late has come to resemble the weekend that the carnival comes to your town, they have games of chance for the players, a number of participation booths for fans to interact with players and of course the big finale, the game itself.

That part of All Star weekend however has more or less taken on all the importance of a public skate at the local rink, and to try and dress it up a bit the NHL is going to give it a makeover of sorts, with the NHL tasking the duties off to newly hired special advisor Brendan Shanahan.

We see it as a sort of harkening back to the days of road hockey or a game at the local outdoor rink, this years all star game will feature the teams captains picking their own line up (with a bit of help from fan balloting) leaving us to wonder which NHL star will in the end have his Albert moment.

For those not familiar with the classic Canadian Tire commercial, Albert was that lonely soul left in the snow bank until the very end, the last pick of the pick up game relegated to his brother's team, so eloquently assigned there with the traditional yelp of "he's your kid brother, you take him".

On dead end streets and outdoor rinks across North America, Albert would inevitably end up in the nets, but for the sake of a good television commercial, Albert was destined for greater things.

For those that have forgotten the classic vignette, or those that never had the chance to dream along with Albert, we offer up this reprise of that defining moment.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

“To see generations of soldiers – I can't imagine what they've gone through – but to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for Canada is a small gesture for us... “The final parade, seeing generations going by and the pride they have in being a member of the armed services, that's the point that really hit home for me.” --Vancouver Canuck Manny Malhotra, expressing his thoughts and those of his team, as the Canucks gathered in Ottawa to mark Remembrance Day.

Full credit to the Vancouver Canuck organization for understanding the important things.

The NHL team, in Ottawa for tonight's game with the Senators, walked as a team to the National War Memorial today, standing with over 30,000 Canadians to commemorate those that gave their lives in the service of Canada and to remember those that still stand on guard for Canada today in Afghanistan and other locations.

Manny Malhotra became the spokesman for the team with a short interview on the CBC, expressing his thoughts on the occasion and what the ceremony meant to he and his team mates.

Clearly respectful of the final march past, Malhotra eloquently described the solemn moment of national remembrance. A day where Canada's veterans and serving personnel received the kind of accolades and support that sports personalities may take for granted on a day to day basis.

Though we imagine that all of them would feel that the tributes paid to the veterans today is something far more worthy and much more important than anything received inside of a hockey rink.

In an era where we have become far to used to the excesses of professional sports, the Canucks provided a welcome reminder that all may not be lost.

Good on them for showing their respect and their support for those that have made sacrifices for this country, the team showed class, a model for all sports franchises in any league.

A mainstay of some 23 American rinks and International hockey, the cheerleader in Canada has normally been confined to the nation's 8 CFL franchises, university and high school teams and it's lonely NBA squad (oh how we still miss the Vancouver Grizzlies and of course the dance team).

Oilers President and CEO Pat Laforge said during the cheerleader launch, that the new squad would be a source of entertainment for the fans and add a little extra spice and sparkle to Oiler games.

While the Edmonton front office prepare for audition night, a number of those fans that would be subjected to the cheers and gyrations are taking to their computers to stop such folly.

An online petition has sprung up, as well as the ever popular Facebook page (though this particular page is proving rather difficult to track down) all designed to bring an end to the visual interference of the on ice experience.

So far the quest to turn back the tide isn't exactly overwhelming, with a slowly building data base of voters and commentators logging on to the site to cast a vote and leave a thought. And while we won't offer up a our own aye or nay on the topic, we have found the commentaries to be rather interesting.

We imagine that as for the movement to stop the cheerleaders, the organizers will continue forward hoping that Oiler fans will want to focus on hockey and not on distractions from the sport itself.

Friday, October 22, 2010

A very public resignation of a Nova Scotia volunteer in minor hockey has once again drawn attention to perhaps the number one problem in minor sports these days, parents that don't quite get it when it comes to the pursuit of athletics by their children.

While the Tim Horton's commercialsmay provide a wishful view of the ice side experience, the annual problem of parents who mis-behave at the rink (or in some cases far from it) is once again making news.

In question is how to reign in those parents who conduct themselves in a bullying fashion, or project the prospect of intimidation and/or potential violence towards players, coaches, officials and administrators, a question that is getting addressed in a number of areas of the country, with a very public examination recently revealed in Nova Scotia.

Wayne McDonald was the vice president of the Timberlea Minor Amateur Sports Association, until the verbal abuse and threats of violence from a few of the hockey parents in the region led him to say enough was enough.

But rather than just disappear into the growing pool of former volunteers who had tired of the abuse and lack of assistance from parents, he took his case to the province's largest newspaper. Submitting to the Halifax Chronicle Herald his reasons for his resignation and concerns for sport in general within his association.

The Globe also provides some details of a Calgary based initiative that many say should become nationwide, a program designed to give parent's cause for a second look at how they behave at the rink.

Calgary Minor hockey currently has in place a requirement that all parents must take the Respect in Sport program, in short, the parents have to hit the books on proper behaviour, before their children can hit the ice.

While it's generally accepted that 98 per cent of the folks that stop by the rink to watch are well behaved, it's the 2 % that seem to ruin the moment for all, and for which the program hopes to turn around.

This was the first year that the program was made mandatory in the Calgary Association, requiring at least one parent of the Association's 13,500 players to take the one hour on line course before their child can play organized hockey.

It may not completely bring to an end the era of the obnoxious parent, but at least may give them cause for second thoughts when it comes to their boorish behaviour.

The program seems rather easy to implement and could easily be transferred to other sports as well, providing lessons and reflection for those that also stand on a soccer or football sideline or grab a seat court side at a basketball game or behind the plate at a baseball game.

A few decades ago facing parental apathy when it came to sport, there was a familiar television commercial which had Dick Irvin urging parents to stick around the rink when they dropped their kids off for a game or a practice. Some thirty years later and that may not seem like such a good idea for a few of those parents.

Some high profile incidents over the years have indicated how far that simple concept has been threatened by parents that don't recognize their responsibilities or their boundaries.

Perhaps with the RIS program in place nationwide and beyond the realm of hockey, those days of sport for the enjoyment of the kids can return to the rinks, courts and fields of the nation

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

"Everybody in that room, starting with me, could do a better job," --Vancouver Canuck Head Coach Alain Vigneault reviewing Tuesday's woeful performance of his squad.

Game number 600 may be a milestone, but for Vancouver Canuck's head coach Alain Vigneault it wasn't much of a night to remember, in fact it was a night that even Vigneault himself admits was not his best effort, nor was it the finest hour for those that he coaches..

Vigneault's Canucks never appeared ready to play on Tuesday night a situation that the home Minnesota Wild more than took advantage of.

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While some of the Canucks were suggesting that the fan got a little to close to Rypien who had been sent to the locker room after a game misconduct the result of fight on the ice. A review of the video of the incident seems to indicate that there is no evidence that the fan physically touched the player, while Rypien made ever effort to reach the fan in the stands.

Canucks GM Mike GIllis anticipates a phone call on Wednesday morning from the league to set up a time and date for a league hearing into Rypien's lack of off ice composure.

As for the Anniversary boy, his record now sits at 293-235 with 35 ties and 37 overtime losses, though we imagine not many were as ugly or uncomfortable to watch than the Minnesota mess.

Tuesday was a night where the team was clearly out performed on the ice and as events play out in Colin Campbell's office over the next few days will most likely see the team no doubt reprimanded in the league office .

Monday, October 11, 2010

When the Vancouver Canucks took to the ice against the LA Kings in 1970 they like many teams had dreams of a Stanley Cup victory, but no doubt realized that an expansion team had a pretty big rock to push up that particular hill.

Forty years later, with the Canucks once again facing the LA Kings in a season opener, that dream is clearly a lot closer to realization, Vancouver a team on the rise with a strong core of players, one of the best goaltenders in the league and a first line combination that could very well take charge of the record books this season.

Such is the buzz around the Canucks these days, that a good number of prognosticators give the west coast team the most likely nod as a Canadian participant in the Stanley Cup final. A climb back to the top of the expectations pile, after a couple of close calls in decades past, where the Canucks made it to a Stanley Cup final but just missed out on hoisting up Lord Stanley's collector cup.

This season there seems to be a new focus on the job at hand, Roberto Luongo has relinquished the duties of captain to better concentrate on his duties as one of the leagues most reliable goaltenders.

Henrik Sedin has been rewarded for his Art Ross season of last year with the teams C, a popular pick among his team mates and the fans in Vancouver, a city where wearing the C carries a heavy responsibility with all of that adulation. And as he was preparing to take on the job he camewith no better reference than that offered up by Mats Naslund, the former Canucks that exemplified and understood the character needed for the position.

Beyond the newly appointed leadership role, the Canucks will once again rely on he and his brother along with fellow Swede Mikael Samuelsson. The trio form what could be one of the league's most exciting forward units and seem ready to fight through the extra attention that such a unit can attract.

With one blue chip first line and a more than potentially dangerous second unit following up, scoring goals in the long NHL season shouldn't be a particularly troublesome task for Vancouver's speedy offensive threats.

If there is a worrisome aspect to the Canucks line up it could be on the blue line, where there still appear to be growing pains and perhaps the need for a stand out defensive oriented player to hold down their own end.

To that goal and perhaps keeping an eye towards the trade deadline next spring, GM Mike Gillis may be keeping watch for yet one more move that could secure that one missing piece of a Stanley Cup puzzle.

While the Canucks are more than confident that Roberto Luongo can make those stops that can turn a game around, adding a little insurance in their own is certainly something that will be on the GM's radar as the season progresses.

A look at the Canucks lineup does offer much promise for 2010--11, certainly more than worthy holders of the title of the most likely Canadian team to go to the Stanley Cup final. If they do, they'll bring the hopes of a long line of Canucks fans who have been waiting for the day since October of 1970.

Forty years later, a guy named Henrik waits to do what a fellow named Orland and a succession of captains through the years also tried to visualize, holding up the Stanley Cup high in the air as a parade wanders down Robson Street.

If all the pieces come together as Canuck fans hope, it could very well be the highlight reel from Vancouver to Ornskoldsvik and everywhere in between!

Friday, October 08, 2010

The 2010-11 NHL season got underway on Thursday morning, the first match of the day's five games brought to us from Helsinki, Finland this years starting spot for 82 game endurance race to the playoffs.

Game number one featured the Minnesota Wild and the Carolina Hurricanes, with Minnesota grabbing the bragging rights of Finland with 4-3 victory. While the folks back home were pre-occupied with the fate of the Twins in the world Series, the NHL's mission to Europe offered up a sample of the excitement over a new season. Unfortunately for the Wild fans that may have tuned in at lunch the sample seemed rather familiar from last year, costly mistakes at the wrong time which provided Carolina with the opportunity to take two points away. The two teams wrap up their European tour on Friday, today will also see Columbus and San Jose as well as Boston and Phoenix start off their tour of the continent in Sweden and the Czech Republic.

The Blackhawks began their defence of the Stanley Cup in Denver with their salary cap revamped line up finding that the youngsters on the Avalanche have picked up a few ideas since last season. The Avs honoured their own Stanley Cup champs of 1996 and the current crew took inspirationon the way to a 4-3 victory over the Hawks.

The Leafs and Canadiens rekindled their ageless show with an entertaining night at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, the hometown Leafs taking their first two points of the season with a 3-2 victory, leaving the most loyal of Leaf fans to begin to draw up the parade route for Stanley's return later in June. One game down, 81 more to go for the Leaf faithful.

The hardest hitting game of the night came out of Edmonton, where provincial rivals the Flames and Oilers reignited the north south dialogue, though on Thursday it seemed only one team was doing the talking as the Oilers dominated the Flames in every facet of play leading up to a 4-0 shut out of their provincial rivals. It's been a fairly long time for Oiler fans, but Thursday brought reminders of the fast paced and fresh faced youngsters of the Golden era of Oiler's hockey, much to the shock for the Flames the scoreboard result resembled some of those nights from the 80's when the Blue and Copper ruled the ice.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

With the start of the regular season set for it's Finish debut on Thursday, hockey fans across North America and beyond are putting the final touches on their fantasy draft listings, the annual ritual of the hockey season which provides those at home to become the GM they always dreamed of being.

From local pools in pubs, bars and offices to the more professional of pools such as the Kenaston Saskatchewan Lions Club annual offering hockey fans are sharpening their pencils and scouring the plethora of guide books to uncover that one hidden gem of a player that will lead them to victory.

Hours and hours of research all comes down to placement in the rotation or ability to handle the salary cap provisions in any particular pool. In the end it all really comes down to who has the most successful lineup and one that is able to avoid injuries during the length of the regular season.

This year as they did last year, the CBC offers up their own fantasy draft opportunity, where participants can log on and select their roster of players to carry them on towards success and perhaps the keys to a new KIA.

TSN is also getting into the hockeypool sweepstakes with their own version of a draft conducted through the ESPN portal.

Yahoo Sports is also a popular location for pollsters, providing a home for the hockey obsessed who love nothing better than to scour the post game box scores to see if their team is taking them on to bragging rights as the sage of hockey for 2010-11

Below are some of the links to the pools that we have discovered thus far, if you have one that we've missed out on, leave us a comment and we'll take a look at it and add it to the inventory.

Monday, October 04, 2010

Quebec City put on their version of Puckstock on the weekend, with a large rally starting at the historic Plains of Abraham that was designed to present visual evidence that a return of the NHL to Quebec's capital should be a no brainer for NHL executives.

With a look back at the glory days of Les Nordiques and stream of old players, coaches and friends of the cause, the gathered tens of thousands ( some estimates put the crowd at over 50,000 pucksters) were treated to what could have been confused as a religious revival such is the fervour that even the hint of a return of the Nords has brought to the city.

Evidence of that passion was shown for hours on a Quebec television network, Quebecor, which is also one of the key potential shareholders in any franchise options.

The rally dubbed "Le Marche Bleu" also served as a way of stirring up support for a new arena for Quebec City, a major requirement should the city seriously expect to have an opportunity to return to the NHL collective. The arena project has the support of the city's mayor and the provincial government, with both levels set to offer up their funding towards the project.

However, the federal government has found itself in a bit of a controversial situation over the prospect of any Federal investment in the quest for a new home for shinny.

Federal participation in the plan could yet take place, however, the process of attracting that funding may have to be revised before the project would be acceptable in other parts of the nation. Some of the tone of that reticence in the rest of country can be found in this National Post article.